Hydroxycloroquine is an arthritis medicine and also an antimalarial drug that can prevent and treat malaria. The media is contributing to the misinformation about the Coronavirus because many false statements are made and posted that hydroxychloroquine is an effective drug and treatment for the Coronavirus.
This has led to many individuals of the public around the world asking their doctors to prescribe them hydroxychloroquine even though it has not been proven that it is effective in
treating or preventing the Coronavirus. This new high demand has caused shortages of the medicine and, it has also become harder for members of the public to obtain this malarial drug when they need it fir its intended purpose, to treat malaria.
The mistakes made during the anthrax attacks of 2001 to media organizations and government buildings compelled the US government to make a book called The Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication guide. This guide instructed on how to communication during a public health crisis. The most important rule is to have a
singular person (preferably not a politician) as a spokesperson given the task to relay information. But in the US, there hasn't been a real clear spokesperson or message regarding Covid-19. With many conflictions of information,
people had to pick sides on who to believe and trust. Depending on who you trust, some people will be more likely to believe the false news about Covid-19 spread through social media than guidelines and recommendations set by credible people and organizations. Skepticism about the capability
of masks to stop the spread from the media and the people who endorse that information compel people to stop wearing masks. Likewise, there have been many claims spread through social media that masks deprive the intake of oxygen, and cause
carbon dioxide poisoning. A prime example of how the false informations spread by media is making the pandemic/epidemic worse are "Karens'." These people complain about wearing masks and also use social media to spread false claims and rumors about masks and the Coronavirus itself to the public.
